The Well of Shades
core novel 2007 Bridei Chronicles
Record
| First published | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.28 (6,728 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 625 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765309976 |
| Internal chronology | 3 |
Synopsis
The third book of the Bridei Chronicles continues directly from Blade of Fortriu, with Bridei now settled as king and facing the ongoing task of governing a newly unified Fortriu. Faolan, his bodyguard and confidant, is sent back to his own homeland on a mission that forces him to face the unresolved demons of his past. Meanwhile Tuala, a young woman with druidic visions and an uncertain place at the Pictish court, begins to investigate the truth of her own parentage. Their separate journeys are complicated by the arrival of a fair-haired princess from the Light Isles, whose presence threatens to unsettle the court, and by the Christian cleric Colmcille, whose mission raises questions about whether the religious order that Bridei and Broichan built together can hold. The book weaves political, personal and spiritual conflicts together as Fortriu's stability is tested from several directions at once.
Where it sits
- Universe: Bridei Chronicles
- Series: The Bridei Chronicles core; position 3 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Juliet Marillier
Notes
- From the series record (The Bridei Chronicles): Set among the historical Picts of Fortriu (northern Scotland) in the 6th century, centred on the real historical king Bridei son of Maelchon. A completed trilogy with no further volumes planned.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Bridei Chronicles: position 3 of 3: previous Blade of Fortriu (2006)
Sources
← Bridei Chronicles dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.